Excuse for not claiming $3m lotto win

A Melbourne man took four days to collect his $3.3 million Tattslotto prize because he was too busy ‘running errands’.

News

Excuse for not claiming $3m lotto win

by James Hall

15th May 2019 6:00 PM

A man who won more than $3.3 million on Tattslotto took four days to collect his massive prize because he was too busy running errands.

Tatts officials had no idea who had won the handsome sum until the Melbourne man finally called on Wednesday to say he had the division one numbers from the Saturday draw.

The family man, aged in his 40s, also won the division three prize six times, taking his haul to $3,340,539.04.

He told Tatts officials the last few days had been a whirlwind.

"I've known since Saturday night, but haven't had the time to get it. We've been running around, getting organised. It's been quite a crazy few days," he said.

"We were just really surprised when we checked the ticket on Saturday.

"We've been using those numbers for quite a long time. We'll keep playing for fun - who knows?"

The man, who wanted to remain anonymous, said he would continue working.

"We're going to buy our first ever house - we're still renting," he said.

"We'll also get some investments to build a portfolio for the future. We want to benefit the family for many years to come."

Another winner of Saturday's division one, a woman from Melbourne, also won division three 36 times, division four 253 times and division five 84 times, bolstering her total prize to $3,387,144.44.

The mum couldn't contain her excitement when she spoke to a Tatts official on Tuesday.

"Don't forget the 44 cents," she said.

In less fortunate news, when a UK man checked his lottery card at a local supermarket, he was stunned when he was told he had won big.

Dean Smethurst, 32, handed his National Lottery ticket to a Tesco supermarket worker on May 8 - and was informed by an employee he had won, but that she was not able to give him his winnings on the spot after an automatic message flashed on her screen.

The 32-year-old planned to spend his winnings on a holiday and home renovation.

Instead, he was told to contact lottery operator Camelot - a procedure for winners who scored cash prizes of more than £50,000 ($AU93,000), according to the company's website.

However, the company's phone line had already closed for the evening, so Mr Smethurst wasn't able to immediately confirm his win.

But that didn't stop him from spending the night celebrating by cracking open some champagne and informing friends and family of his good fortune.

But the next day, he received shocking news.

After calling the organisation, it turned out that the Tesco worker received the message that a cash payout was not possible because the lottery draw was underway at the same time Mr Smethurst was checking his ticket - and not because he has won a major prize.

In a devastating blow, the $93,000 he thought was coming his way ended up being just $11 after it was revealed he had only won three "lucky dips" worth just $3.73 each.

Mr Smethurst, a supermarket manager who has played the lottery for six years, told The Mirror he had already planned how he was going to spend his winnings the night before learning the harsh truth.